BY LUIS MADRID AND NELSON PALACIOS
The wave of protests and strikes that swept Ecuador in October underscored the political paralysis of Fabián Alarcón's interim government, and the increased confidence of workers and peasants in this Latin American nation of 11 million people, as they confront worsening social conditions.

In mid-October, inhabitants from five provinces in the overwhelmingly indigenous Amazonian region occupied about 50 oil wells belonging to the state-run Petroecuador, in some cases for up to 10 days. As a result, oil extraction - which can reach up to 400,000 barrels per day - was cut by 15 percent. Nearly 40 percent of Ecuador's budget comes from oil exports. Led by the region's mayors, the protests demanded more funding for infrastructure projects. The protesters demanded 3 billion sucres ($700,000) for each of the 38 municipalities, and 5 billion sucres ($1.2 million) for each of the provinces' councils. They called for the construction of an inter- Amazonian region highway. Protesters also seized airstrips and roads in the Amazon, which is the country's richest oil region. At the same time, a group of 80 indigenous activists and others occupied the Papallacta water station October 14, closing the valves that control the water supply for half of the population in Quito, the capital.

Others have been fighting government austerity as well. The National Union of Educators (UNE) ended a 37-day strike October 16, after Congress gave in to the teachers' demands. These included pay increases and improved conditions for education at the elementary school level, and an increase in the resources allocated to it. "Congress erred in regards to the UNE case," complained César Verduga, secretary to the presidency, saying there was not enough room in the budget to implement the strike settlement.

After an eight-month contract dispute and four-month strike, workers from Ecuador's Electricity Enterprise won a court ruling entitling them to profit-sharing earnings owed for more than two years. Their victory coincided with a government crisis over electricity rationing of up to eight hours a day. Many people attribute the power outages to lack of planning. The blackouts led to the dismissal of Rafael Almeida, president of Petroecuador, and Miguel Calahorrano, manager of the country's Electricity Institute.

Alarcón himself was named interim president of Ecuador last February after a national strike that involved 2 million workers resulted in the ouster of Abdalá Bucaram, six months after he took office. The massive protests were called to oppose the austerity measures the government was trying to implement, including cuts to social expenditures. Bucaram said these cuts were needed so that Ecuador could continue making payments on its foreign debt and comply with the demands of the International Monetary Fund.

In response to the current government's refusal to convene a new constitutional assembly - promised by Alarcón when he took office - some 5,000 indigenous fighters and members of labor and social organizations marched from all four corners of the country to converge on the capital October 12.

A commission of about 90 delegates was assigned to address economic questions. It adopted a report proposing that "the state ceases paying the foreign debt, which is illegal, and was immorally obtained by a minority on behalf of the country." There is not unanimous support for this among the forces involved, however. Napoleón Saltos, a leader of the commission from the populist group Pachakutik, opposed the proposal, which also calls for rejecting the privatization of state-owned enterprises.

The economics commission also demanded that more of the national budget be devoted to health care, education, and municipal and province governments. Another commission proposed the recognition of Ecuador as a multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual country.

The documents that were brought before the plenary session of the People's Assembly, which ended October 17, are being debated in different communities and organizations across the country. They will be taken up by the assembly again at the end of November when it reconvenes and will draft a constitution.  
 
 
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